Grande Arabesque, First Time (Arabesque à terre)
c. 1885/1890
Medium
pigmented beeswax, metal armature, wood slivers, cork, on wooden base
Dimensions
overall without base: 49.5 x 24.5 x 34.8 cm (19 1/2 x 9 5/8 x 13 11/16 in.) height (of figure): 47.9 cm (18 7/8 in.)
Classification
Sculpture
Department
CSD
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon
Accession Number
1999.80.26
Art Historical Context
**Grande Arabesque, First Time (Arab à terre)** Edgar Degas, the renowned French artist associated with Impressionism, crafted this captivating sculpture around 1885–1890. Though best known for his paintings of ballet dancers, horse races, and modern life, Degas privately created over 150 sculptures in his later years, many depicting the poised grace of dancers. This work captures a ballerina in the elegant "arabesque à terre pose—her body arched low to the ground in a fluid extension of leg and arm—evoking the discipline and ephemerality of ballet performance. The sculpture's innovative me...
About the Artist
Edgar Degas · 1834–1917
Edgar Degas (1834-1917) stands as one of the most innovative artists of the nineteenth century, whose distinctive vision transformed how modern life could be depicted on canvas. Born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas in Paris to a wealthy banking family—his father French, his mother a Louisiana Creole from New Orleans—Degas received a classical education before abandoning law studies in 1855 to pursue ...